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August: International engagement update

Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay attends ASEAN Dialogue

August was a big month in progressing the Commission’s strategic goal of advancing human rights globally. The Commission participated in three international activities:

  • In Vietnam, the Commission ran two human rights education training activities from 8-14 August 2024. The activities were delivered in partnership with the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and supported the Academy’s mandate to implement a national policy on embedding human rights education into the Vietnamese national curriculum by building the knowledge and capacity of Vietnamese teachers and educational officials.
     
  •  In Laos, the Commission, along with a representative of the Human Rights Branch in the Attorney General’s Department, participated in two workshops in Laos from 13-16 August to support preparation for their 4th Universal Periodic Review Cycle and initial state party report under the Convention Against Torture. These activities were delivered in partnership with the Department of Treaty and Law in the Lao PDR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
     
  • In Indonesia, our Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay spoke at the ASEAN Dialogue in Realising Southeast Asia as a Torture-Free Region on 20-21 August. The event, organised by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, sought to build knowledge and capacity of police and security forces. Commissioner Finlay explained international norms on the prevention of torture and the importance of human-rights based approaches. 

These activities are part of larger multi-year projects supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and a critical way for Australia to protect and promote universal human rights, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The Commission’s support for these projects reflects its belief that all people around the world have the right to fundamental freedoms and to live their lives with dignity.